Embodiments of the present invention exemplarily described herein relate generally to methods and apparatuses for collecting material produced by processing workpieces.
Machines such as mechanical drills, mechanical saws, lathes, routers, sanders, abrasive blasters, laser drilling machines, laser cutting machines, laser milling machines, etc., are used to process (e.g., cut, drill, abrade, grind, remove, shape, mill, etc.) workpieces formed of metal, ceramic, glass, semiconductor material, and the like. By-products such as vapor, dust and larger debris are typically produced as a result of the interaction between the machine and the workpiece. Unabated, these by-products often become scattered on the surface workpiece, deposited on the machines used to machine the workpiece, or become entrained by ambient air currents. If not properly collected, such by-products can degrade the quality of the workpiece being machined, degrade the quality of the end-product to be produced as a result of machining the workpiece, contaminate or otherwise degrade the performance of the machine, and can degrade the overall air quality of the surrounding environment. For example, by-products produced as a result of machining with a laser-based system (e.g., a laser drilling machine, a laser cutting machine, a laser milling machine, etc.) can often be molten. If the molten materials are not adequately removed from the work area, these materials can undesirably adhere to the workpiece and to optics of the laser-based system, and can interfere with the laser-workpiece interaction.